The new U.S. bill proposes a voluntary disclosure program for digital assets, allowing for the correction of past tax filings

According to Cointelegraph, Section 502 of the Digital Asset Tax Clarification Act (H.R. 10357) currently advancing in the U.S. Congress stipulates that the Secretary of the Treasury must establish a voluntary disclosure program for digital assets within 12 months after the act takes effect.

Eligible taxpayers can correct past digital asset tax violations by submitting amended returns and paying back taxes, interest, and penalties under the program. The act was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee on September 16 with a vote of 38 to 5, but it has not yet officially become law and still needs to be passed by the House, the Senate, and signed by the President.

Andrew Gordon, Executive Director of the Digital Asset Taxation Action Organization, stated that this is a significant change that will help many ordinary taxpayers, yet it has received little attention. He pointed out that U.S. investors are facing the first filing season under the new 1099-DA broker reporting rules, which give the IRS greater visibility into crypto transactions but do not address the years prior to the rules taking effect. Sharon Yip, founder of Crypto Tax Advisors, also noted that filing errors among ordinary crypto investors are very common, and the existing procedures lack standardized processes, making it impossible to provide predictable penalty treatment for unintentional violators.

According to Section 502, taxpayers generally must submit amended returns within 24 months after the program is established, and the act sets two penalty standards. Taxpayers who provide proof that their violations are neither fraudulent nor intentional can apply a 0% penalty on the portion of back taxes up to $25,000 if they file within the first 12 months after the program starts, while amounts exceeding that will incur a 5% penalty.

Those who do not provide such proof will face penalties of 25% and 40%, and the tax rates will increase if the initial window is missed. The act also provides specific civil penalty waivers, allowing unproven taxpayers to be exempt from criminal referral within the scope of the disclosed information. A report by CoinTracker in 2026 showed that only 49% of crypto users correctly understand that selling crypto assets is a taxable event.